SUNDAY STROLL IN ARRAS (FRANCE)

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• published: 08 Apr 2014
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Digital video recording, comments and annotations copyright 2014 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A. cutecatfaith.com Dailymotion: LisaFalour YouTube: SLOBOMOTION, CUTECATFAITH This weather was typical -- quite grey, a few drops of rain sometimes, but a very agreeable 15 degrees c. on an April Sunday afternoon. I was tickled to finally be able to see a bit of Arras, which boasts France's most beautiful central plaza, it has been rated. In fact, the show-offs in Arras attached at least one other beautiful plaza to this one, just for good measure. This architecture is not "typical of France," and had I been plunked down here and the blindfold taken off and asked where I thought I was, I wouldn't have been able to identify the country or region. This is not all that far from Belgium, and the buildings reflect that. Most of France is dead quiet on Sunday afternoons, but this city was pretty active, and as the visit progressed and it got later in the day, more and more people were out. The regular shops were closed of course, but a great number of tobacconists, cafés and pastry or bakery shops and restaurants were open and occupied. They do love their beer and tobacco in these parts, and there's a strong Walloon and Flemish flavor it to it all -- literally -- I saw people having café flammande -- a wonderful Flemish coffee drink with a bit of strong alcohol, possibly a pinch of spice, in it and whipped cream on top. Mmmmm .... You can, indeed, take a train here from Paris -- it's the end of a line managed by SNCF, I believe. My goal was to get to the Musée des Beaux-Arts to see a specific gisant. (22, rue Paul Doumer) We drove in, however -- took about an hour and a half from Paris on a toll highway. It's far. But this is certainly an appealing city with a tone all its own. There's nothing special in this clip, I just liked the "porch houses" with the arcades beneath their "porches," and I kept noticing how elegant the fixtures are there -- even the drain covers are artistic, in lovely patterns in their metal. The City Hall resembles a Gothic church, and contains murals and features finer and richer than found in many elegant cathedrals.